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Syracuse the Ancient Greek City in Sicily History
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Greek period

Syracuse and its surrounding area have been
inhabited since ancient times, as shown by the findings in the
villages of Stentinello, Ognina, Plemmirio, Matrensa, Cozzo Pantano
and Thapsos, which already had a relationship with
Mycenaean Greece.

Syracuse was founded in 734 or 733 BC by Greek
settlers from
Corinth and
Tenea, led by the oecist
(colonizer)
Archias, who called it Sirako,
referring to a nearby salt marsh. The nucleus of the ancient city
was the small island of Ortygia. The settlers found the land
fertile and the native tribes to be reasonably well-disposed to
their presence. The city grew and prospered, and for some time stood
as the most powerful Greek city anywhere in the
Mediterranean. Colonies were
founded at
Akrai (664 BC),
Kasmenai (643 BC),
Akrillai (VII century BC),
Helorus (VII century BC) and
Kamarina (598 BC). The descendants
of the first colonist, called Gamoroi, held the power until
they were expelled by the Killichiroi, the lower class of the
city. The former, however, returned to power in 485 BC, thanks to
the help of Gelo, ruler of
Gela. Gelo himself became the
despot of the city, and moved many inhabitants of Gela, Kamarina and
Megera to Syracuse, building the new quarters of
Tyche and
Neapolis outside the walls. His
program of new constructions included a new theater, designed by
Damocopos, which gave the city a
flourishing cultural life: this in turn attracted personalities as
Aeschylus, Ario of
Metimma, Eumelos of
Corinth and
Sappho, who had been exiled here
from
Mytilene. The enlarged power of
Syracuse made unavoidable the clash against the
Carthaginians, who ruled western
Sicily. In the
Battle of Himera, Gelo, who had
allied with Theron of
Agrigento, decisively defeated the
African force led by
Hamilcar. A
temple, entitled to
Athena (on the site of the today's
Cathedral), was erected in the city to commemorate the event

Then in the early 4th century BC, the
tyrantDionysius the Elder was again at
war against
Carthage and, although losing Gela
and Camarina, kept that power from capturing the whole of Sicily.
After the end of the conflict Dionysius built a massive fortress on
the Ortygia island of the city and
22 km-long walls around all of Syracuse. Another period of expansion
saw the destruction of
Naxos,
Catania and
Lentini, then Syracuse entered
again in war against Carthage (397 BC). After various changes of
fortune, the Carthaginians managed to besiege Syracuse itself, but
were eventually pushed back by a pestilence. A treaty in 392 BC
allowed Syracuse to enlarge further its possessions, founding the
cities of Adrano,
Ancona,
Adria, Tindari and Tauromenos, and
conquering
Reggio Calabria on the continent.
Apart from his battle deeds, Dionysius was famous as a patron of
art, and Plato himself visited Syracuse
several times.

His successor was
Dionysius the Younger, who was
however expelled by
Dion in 356 BC. But the latter's
despotic rule led in turn to his expulsion, and Dionysius reclaimed
his throne in 347 BC. A democratic government was installed by
Timoleon in 345 BC. The long series
of internal struggles had weakened Syracuse's power on the island,
and Timoleon tried to remedy this, defeating the Carthaginians in
339 BC near the
Krimisos river. But the struggle
among the city's parties restarted after his death and ended with
the rise of another tyrant,
Agathocles, who seized power with a
coup in 317 BC. He resumed the war against Carthage, with alternate
fortunes. He however scored a moral success, bringing the war to the
Carthaginians' native African soil, inflicting heavy losses to the
enemy. The war ended with another treaty of peace which did not
prevent the Carthaginians interfering in the politics of Syracuse
after the death of Agathocles (289 BC). The citizens called
Pyrrhus of Epirus for help. After a
brief period under the rule of Epirus,
Hiero II seized power in 275 BC.

Hiero inaugurated a period of 50 years of peace
and prosperity, in which Syracause became one of the most renowned
capitals of Antiquity. He issued the so-called Lex Hieronica,
which was later adopted by the Romans for their administration of
Sicily; he also had the theater enlarged and a new immense
altar, the "Hiero's Ara", built.
Under his rule lived the most famous Syracusan, the
natural philosopherArchimedes. Among his many
inventions were various military engines including the
claw of Archimedes, later used to
resist the
Roman siege of 214 BC212 BC.
Literary figures included
Theocritus and others.

Hiero's successor, the young
Hieronymus (ruled from 215 BC),
broke the alliance with the Romans after their defeat at the
Battle of Cannae and accepted
Carthage's support. The Romans, led
by consul
Marcus Claudius Marcellus,
besieged the city in 214 BC. The
city held out for three years, but fell in 212 BC. It is believed to
have fallen due to a peace party opening a small door in the wall to
negotiate a peace, but the Romans charged through the door and took
the city, killing Archimedes in the process.

From
Roman domination to the Middle Ages

Though declining slowly by the years, Syracuse
maintained the status of capital of the Roman government of Sicily
and seat of the
praetor. It remained an important
port for the trades between the Eastern and the Western parts of the
Empire.
Christianity spread in the city
through the efforts of
Paul of Tarsus and Saint Marziano,
the first bishop of the city, who made it one of the main centres of
proselytism in the West. In the age
of the persecutions massive
catacombs were carved, whose size
is second only to those of Rome.

After a period of
Vandal rule, Syracuse and the
island was recovered by
Belisarius for the
Byzantine Empire (31 December 535).
From 663 to 668 Syracuse was the seat of Emperor
Constans II, as well as metropolis
of the whole Sicilian Church.

Another siege in 878, resulted in the city coming
under two centuries of
Muslim rule. The capital was moved
from Syracuse to
Palermo. The Cathedral was
converted into a
mosque and the quarter on the
Ortygia island was gradually rebuilt along Islamic styles. The city,
nevertheless, maintained important trade relationships, and housed a
relatively flourishing cultural and artistic life: several Arab
poets, including
Ibn Hamdis, the most important
Sicilian poet of the 12th century, flourished in the city.

In 1038, the Byzantine general
George Maniaces reconquered the
city, sending the relics of St. Lucy to
Constantinople. The eponymous
castle on the cape of Ortygia bears his name, although it was built
under the
Hohenstaufen rule. In 1085 the
Normans entered Syracuse, one of
the last
Arab strongholds, after a
summer-long siege by
Roger I of Sicily and his son
Jordan of Hauteville, who was given
the city as count. New quarters were built, and the cathedral was
restored, as well as other churches.

In 1194
Henry VI of
Swabia occupied Syracuse. After a
short period of
Genoese rule (12051220), which
favoured a rise of trades, Syracuse was conquered back by emperor
Frederick II. He began the
construction of the
Castello Maniace, the Bishops'
Palace and the Bellomo Palace. Frederick's death brought a period of
unrest and feudal anarchy. In the struggle between the
Anjou and
Aragonese monarchies, Syracuse
sided with the Aragonese and defeated the Anjou in 1298, receiving
from the Spanish sovereigns great privileges in reward. The
pre-eminence of baronal families is also shown by the construction
of the palaces of
Abela,
Chiaramonte,
Nava,
Montalto.